Dave- no one will laugh at your choice of music and you will find that many (most?) of the active posters enjoy popular (i.e., non-classical) music. I would have to say that in my experience changing speakers has a major impact on the character of the sound, while changing electronics has more impact on detail, soundstage, imaging, etc. I don't know your electronics but others say they are decent. I would think that for limited budget, cables would be a good way to go, cause you can add one pair at a time and purchase used with little chance of a operational defect. They aren't sexy, but they can have a major impact. DH Labs is well thought of in the modest price speaker wire dept., lots of choices for interconnects (AQ, Homegrown, DH Labs, better monsters, Kimber to name a few). If your budget is bigger, I would then consider pre or speakers next. Sd's point about a major step up is a good one, unless you enjoy the buying and selling. Someone once posted their rule of thumb (garfish maybe); need to spend double what you spent on the component your replacing (comparing new vs. new or used vs. used)to make a significant impact, assumming you've chosen equipment wisely. Seems reasonable to me, based on my experiences upgrading over the lasts 18 months.
